In recent years, the so-called "tape pirates" have flourished. Such pirates duplicated original recordings on tapes and/or records and sold them under their own labels at a much lower price than the authentic producer of the records and/or tapes. However, the copyright law was recently amended to make such duplication illegal.
This has led to another form of tape or record piracy, which may be referred to as total counterfeiting of the record and album jacket or tape and tape box to produce a counterfeit product which is substantially identical to the authentic product. This has also occurred in the paperback book industry where "book pirates" have produced counterfeit books which are substantially identical to the authentic books. In fact, the counterfeit product so closely resembles the authentic product that once such counterfeit products enter the channels of trade, such as the retail store, such counterfeit products cannot be readily distinguished from the authentic products. This counterfeiting problem has greatly plagued the authentic producers, as it is decreasing the profitability of expending large sums of money to produce and distribute original recordings and books. Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a system whereby such counterfeit products may be readily distinguished from the authentic products and removed from the marketplace. In addition, it would also be highly desirable to provide such a detection system which will make it possible to track down the counterfeit producers so that their operations can be discontinued.
However, there is no simple detection system of the type suggested presently in existence. It is known to identify paper products through coloring, but such coloring would not be suitable for products, such as album jackets or book covers. More particularly, various paper mills have produced colored paperboard for the making of such products as game boards. The purpose of employing such color in the game board was for vendor identification so that it could be determined which vendor produced the paperboard used to manufacture the product. However, in such boards, the edges of the colored layers were not intended to be exposed after conversion, and it would have been necessary to damage or destroy the product, such as the game board, to make the color visible. Accordingly, such an identification system would not be suitable or practical for products, such as record jackets or book covers, wherein the product would have to be damaged or destroyed in order to be inspected. In addition, such an identification system could not be used to authenticate products, since different vendors used different colors for the same product. It is therefore highly desirable to provide a simple detection system which can quickly indicate whether a product is authentic or counterfeit by merely viewing the package or cover and without damaging same. In this manner, the counterfeit products can be removed from the channels of trade, but the authentic products, after being inspected, would still be suitable for sale. It would also be highly desirable to provide such a product authentication system which is inexpensive to implement, but which would be very difficult to duplicate, even if the authentication system were discovered.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a product authentication system which solves one or more of the aforesaid problems. Specifically, it is within the contemplation of the present invention to provide a product authentication system for products having a paperboard cover or package which allows the product to be easily inspected for authenticity without damaging or destroying the package or cover.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system whereby authentic products may be readily distinguished from counterfeit products by simply inspecting the paperboard packages or covers.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a product authentication system which is inexpensive to implement and produce, and which is difficult to duplicate even if the existence of the system is uncovered.